Welcome to the Mr. Local History Project
“A 501c3 Non-Profit Dedicated to Preserving and Promoting Jersey History with a Social Twist”
Countdown to America’s 250th Birthday
The Mr. Local History Project is about bringing New Jersey’s past into the present through the stories of real places, real people, and real communities. Focused especially on New Jersey history, the project celebrates local history in a way that feels personal, engaging, and relevant, not something locked away in textbooks, but history that lives where we live. As we head into 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States, Mr. Local History is turning history into a shared experience. With a social twist, this is about connecting online and in the community, sharing memories, spotlighting hometown stories, and honoring New Jersey’s outsized role in America’s founding. It is history you can explore, share, and be part of together.
Today in America’s History (We Update Every Day)
- 1778: Pluckemin, New Jersey. Continental Army artillery cantonment during the Revolutionary War, associated with Henry Knox and American artillery training and logistics.
- 1794: French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Fleurus marks the first successful military use of aircraft and turns the tide of the War of the First Coalition.
- 1934: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Federal Credit Union Act, which establishes credit unions.
- 1948: Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" is published in The New Yorker magazine.
- 1974: The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley's chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
- 1997: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Communications Decency Act violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- 2003: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that sex-based sodomy laws are unconstitutional.
- 2013: The U.S. Supreme Court rules, 5–4, that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- 2015: The U.S. Supreme Court rules, 5–4, that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- 2024: Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, returns to Australia after pleading guilty to one charge of espionage in a Saipan court and subsequently being released by the United States Department of Justice.
Two Great Calendars – One for Events, One for Exhibits
Our Readers’ Top 10 MLH Posts this Week
Latest Posts
Show us Your Red, White, and Blue Expression Contest – Celebrating America 250
Views: 122 America’s 250th birthday is a once-in-a-generation celebration, and there’s no better time to proudly display what America means to you. Whether it’s a porch draped in flags, a family dressed in red, white, and blue, a neighborhood gathering,…
Middlebrook’s 1778-1779 Encampment – 10,000 Troops and Bridgewater’s Legacy
Views: 436 Military protocol in the eighteenth century generally called for armies to suspend major campaigning during the winter months. Harsh weather, poor roads, limited food supplies, and the difficulty of moving men, horses, artillery, and wagons made large-scale operations…
Igniting New Jersey’s Revolutionary Signal Beacons for America 250 Effort
Views: 253 Long before telegraphs, radios, or cell phones, New Jersey’s mountaintops carried messages by fire. During the Revolutionary War, General William Livingston and Brigadier General William Alexander—better known as Lord Stirling—relied on a chain of signal beacons stretching across…
Meet HistOracle AI: New Jersey Team Brings History’s Voices Back to Life
Views: 360 PREVIEW RELEASE to Subscribers: For centuries, historians have relied on books, letters, artifacts, and exhibits to tell the stories of the past. But what if visitors could do something more? What if they could actually sit down and…
Communicating Life Stories – Digital Storytelling Oral History
Views: 7,139 Communicating Life Stories and Digital Storytelling For generations, family stories and personal memories were preserved through handwritten letters, photo albums, and conversations around the kitchen table. Today, those same stories can be recorded with a smartphone, shared across…
Mr. Local History’s America’s 250th Commemorative Magazine
Views: 2,699 This Special Issue of Mr. Local History Magazine celebrates America’s SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL, the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, by bringing New Jersey’s Revolutionary past to life. From historic battlefields and museum exhibits to community events…
America’s Grandest Estate in Basking Ridge Archaeological Dig Continues
Views: 495 UPDATE:Wednesday, June 18, 2026, Session 13 – 02:00 PM – 03:15 PM, hear the panel explore, through the lens of archaeology, the past, present, and future of “The Buildings,” the former estate of Revolutionary War General William Alexander, also known…
The Great Swamp: Ice Age, Melting, Airports, Swampers, Raptors, Fireworks & Horror Tales
Views: 745 At first glance, the Great Swamp seems peaceful, a quiet stretch of reeds, willows, and winding creeks lying between Basking Ridge, Harding, and Chatham. Yet beneath its still surface lies a story that spans thousands of years, from…
Perth Amboy’s Great Jersey History
Views: 669 One of the things we enjoy most about the Mr. Local History Project is discovering how seemingly unrelated stories eventually connect. Over the years, we’ve crossed paths with Perth Amboy through the lives of New Jersey’s Royal Governors,…
Historic Ice Yacht Gifted to Lake Hopatcong Club- It’s “Ours”
Views: 168 On February 9, 2026, Brian Haumersen and Mike D Achille returned the historic ice yacht OURS to the ice of the Navesink River at the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club for the first time in approximately…
That 1779/1780 Winter at Jockey Hollow and a Hut City
Views: 662 Everyone knows the story of Valley Forge. But it’s Jockey Hollow you need to remember. For generations, Americans have learned about George Washington’s Army suffering through the winter of 1777–1778 in Pennsylvania. Valley Forge has become synonymous with…
MLH Loves To See The Public Engaged….. The Latest Comments
I worked for AT&T IMS from ’88 to ’92 on the first floor of building 7. Our organization was responsible…
As history buffs (particularly Revolutionary War), we were excited to visit Eagles’s Nest at Washington Valley Park today. From the…
My Grandfather, Boyd Happe, was a proud member. Raised pheasants on Prospect behind 148 Maple. Those houses had trouble with…
When I moved to Martinsville section of Bridgewater 44 yrs. ago, the western side of Shley Mtn. was a huge…
Grew up at on So. 10th EWR. Went to St. Ann’s grammar school on 16th and 7th. Graduated 1956. Mom…
Please advise if Sky Farm is having an open house because the date within this document says June 11th Saturday…
I was a resident of Peapack , living on the road known as Matheny road during the years that Jacqueline…
Jimmy was an integral part of the services throughout the town and was always actively involved. He was always very…
A wonderful man, a hero and true friend of Basking Ridge. My father-in-law grew up with Mr. D and remained…
Our Summer 2026 Magazine is HERE!
Full of great local Jersey History to keep you on the edge of your history seat.
Special Edition – America’s 250th The SEMI-QUIN-CENTENNIAL is HERE!
See our special digital magazine. Full of great local Jersey History.
Lord Stirling is my 6th great-grandfather. I’d like to keep on top of the research you do about him!